Related videos:
The Spanish chain Meliá Hotels International has confirmed that it plans to temporarily close more hotels in Cuba, adding to the three that are already closed.
Although the company insists that it does not plan to abandon the Island—where it manages 35 establishments—the announcement once again highlights the seriousness of a crisis that can no longer be concealed with official euphemisms.
According to sources from the company quoted by EFE, the decision is due to the increasing difficulties with supplies, especially fuel, the transportation issues that workers face in getting to their jobs, and the sustained decline in tourist demand. In other words: there is a fuel shortage, there are fewer flights, and there are fewer customers.
Meliá discusses a process of "consolidation" of its offerings, a term that aligns with the one used by Cuban authorities to describe the closure of hotel facilities in response to the energy crisis.
However, beyond the technical language, what is happening is an evident contraction of tourism activity in one of the few sectors that still generated foreign currency in the country.
The hotelier emphasizes that the closure of three of its 35 hotels is due to a "strictly operational" decision, based on occupancy levels and the need to adapt to current constraints.
Nevertheless, the company insists that Cuba remains a destination with "strong potential" and hopes that the situation can be redirected.
The president and CEO of the group, Gabriel Escarrer, recently asserted that they feel "comfortable" with their leadership position in the Cuban market.
The group's financial results seem to shield it from the decline of the Island: in 2025, Meliá surpassed 200 million euros in net profit, a 23.6% increase from the previous year, and achieved a gross operating result (EBITDA) of 544.7 million euros. Of that amount, only about 2%—just over 10 million—comes from its business in Cuba.
As tourism in Cuba dwindles, the Spanish giant assures that the real impact on its global accounts is marginal, and that despite the crisis, its financial health is not at risk.
A deterioration that can no longer be hidden
At the beginning of February, against the backdrop of the energy crisis, Meliá reduced its hotel availability in Cuba to align it with occupancy levels.
The measure initially affected three hotels and was presented as an operational decision aimed at optimizing resources due to low demand and supply limitations.
The announcement came shortly after the Cuban government publicly admitted the closure of hotels due to a lack of fuel.
On state television, the Deputy Prime Minister acknowledged that facilities were being closed and tourists were being relocated to reduce energy consumption and "make the most of the high season," without specifying the true extent of the adjustment.
Sources in the sector indicated that the closures primarily affected Varadero and the northern keys of the country, areas that have historically been strategic for international tourism.
At the same time, workers in the sector reported increasingly extreme working conditions: seven days of work followed by seven days of rest, and the requirement to stay in nearby hotels due to the inability to travel home because of fuel shortages.
The problem is not limited to Meliá
The drip of closures in the foreign hotel sector has spread.
Chains like Iberostar and Valentín Hotels & Resorts have also started to close facilities to optimize the available fuel and adjust to the drastic drop in demand. In the case of Valentín, the closure of the Valentin Perla Blanca hotel in Cayo Santa María has been confirmed.
The crisis further intensified following the complete suspension of operations by Canadian airlines to Cuba. Air Canada, WestJet, and Air Transat canceled their flights, a devastating blow considering that nearly half of the visitors the Island received in 2025—around 754,000—were Canadian.
Without fuel for airplanes, without stable electricity, and with a country paralyzed by blackouts lasting up to 20 hours a day, tourism—which the regime presents as an economic engine—is experiencing one of its most critical moments.
Official figures confirm it: Cuba ended 2025 with just 1.8 million international visitors and a hotel occupancy rate of 21.5% in the first half of the year.
A crisis with accountability
The official narrative tries to present the situation as a temporary phenomenon, but the deterioration is the result of years of poor management, lack of foresight, and an inability to sustain strategic sectors.
The energy crisis did not arise from nowhere; it is a direct consequence of inefficient management that has left the country without fuel for transportation, without electrical stability, and without the minimal logistics necessary to sustain its economy.
While foreign chains speak of an 'impasse' and claim they have no intention of leaving Cuba, the reality is that they are operating in survival mode, watching day by day how a crisis has ultimately paralyzed one of the few sources of foreign currency for the State.
Closed hotels, canceled flights, exhausted workers, and relocated tourists paint a picture of a destination that is dimming just when it needs to ignite the most.
And although Meliá endures, it does so in a country increasingly suffocated by the lack of fuel, planning, and credibility.
Filed under: